Partridge makes first in home visit with Jonathan Jones

I didn't see this posted already and did search the board. Chris Partridge made his first in home visit to Jonathan Jones per 247Sports link below.
http://tinyurl.com/hk97v89
LB Target Jones Talks Partridge Stop, Will Visit Soon

Are we looking at some of that Florida speed with Jones? Our single biggest weakness , IMHO, is lack of speed at LB and DE. I can't count how many times our LB corp took 4.5 speed angles when they are 4.75 backers.

Meh, from what I understand, it wasn't so much a speed problem as it was our injured DL. We had plenty of speed against spread teams early in the season. Speed is always a plus, but it is not critical at the LB position.

to you back. Speed kills. I'd take speed and quickness over not having it any day in the linebacking corps. Morgan and Bolden are smart and skilled enough players but they are very slow. That injured defensive line did damn good the week before agains PSU. PSU didn't have the OSU line but whatever. The linebackers were a handicap in The Game. If UM would've had two stud hitting and lightning fast/quick SEC type cats(linebackers) vs. Zeke and Barrett, the outcome is way different. Although that's just my opinion and I've been wrong before!

Jones is a guy whose offers don't match his star rating. What makes me nervous about Jones and Terrance Davis is that we have been their leader for the entire process, yet they haven't pulled the trigger. I'm worried that the distance may be a factor with Jones.

Chris a solid recruiter. The job he did at Paramus Catholic in the NJ catholic school league was outstanding. He convinced Peppers to leave competitor Don Bosco in his junior year and the rest is history ... more recruits followed and Paramus won the league title and became a national high school power.

Chris played LB at Lafayette College and coached there upon graduation as well as at the Citadel. Taking the recruiter job at Michigan was a risk, but he saw the chance to learn from NFL caliber coaches. I would bet that Harbaugh and Mattison have big plans for Chris. Would not shock me to see them develop Chris into a solid DC within 3-5 years.

Time to lock-down Jones and then Bush ... we need these guys in the depth chart next year. And I think Bush senior is going to be the next recruiting coordinator at Michigan to be announced after signing day in February. Harbaugh needs to replace DJ's FLA access and Bush senior is a lot like Chris having developed an outstanding FLA high school program. Plus Bush has NFL pedigree which helps a ton. Maybe better than having DJ who is a super high-energy guy but not an NFL guy.

It feels like Harbaugh is going for NFL talent for the DC job or to promote someone from within. Maybe have Co-DCs for the bowl game being Jackson and Mattison and then decide after the NFL season concludes. I mean preparation for the bowl game needs to start on Monday so someone has to take charge pronto.

He had quit his job at Paramus to work at Rutgers and that fell through. Meanwhile Paramus had hired one of Harbaugh's former players in his place. He was unemployed without much in the way of coaching opportunities.

Chris is an ascending coach that quit his job at Paramus to better himself. Rutgers was forced to renege on his offer from pressure by the other Catholic schools in NJ who feed Rutgers. I am from the east coast and folks in the Midwest don't realize the nature of the NJ catholic league. These are national power high school football programs. Bergen Catholic, Don Bosco and Paramus place maybe 30 D1 prospects per annum in college - they recruit the best players from the Mid-Atlantic region and they travel nationally by airplane to play schools in FLA, Texas and Cali. Chris came in and upset the establishment apple cart. Paramus was a distant third in that pecking order forever and he jumped the establishment by getting Peppers to transfer to Paramus. That pissed them off as is evident from what came down for him at Rutgers. I am telling you we are lucky to pick him up. If he helps us get the best from those NJ catholic league schools that is a big national advantage. Plus, this guy has head coaching experience at the highest level of national power high schools. These are not like the public high schools in Michigan, they recruit and are stocked with D1 talent.

Even if the move isn't permanent, you get your recruiting guy on the road rather than waiting for players to come to him.

I didn't understand why people thought this was mean if it wasn't his future job. No, i's great experience for him and it helps the team..it's a win-win. It's also do in literally EVERY D1 sport around the country.

I've been at smaller schools where graduate assistants are elevated to full time coaches until the assistant coach is replaced. How awesome is that to have on your resume?

To compete against the elite teams we need speed and quickness at the linebacker position. I like the effort given my Bolden and Morgan but they just didn't have the speed to cover against good teams that run the zone read. Harbaugh knows they need more speed at the linebacker position and will most certainly address this shortcoming.

obviously its all about playing fast. its nice to have guys that can win track meets but doesnt mean much if the speed doesnt translate to the field.

quickness, explosion, instincts and leverage are massive at the LB spot (like most positions in football), as are diagnosis and recognition skills, and the strength and ability to take on and shed blocks (or slip when necessary), find your fit, track the ball and then drop the hammer. that may sound simplistic but its not (at all) - tough to consistently do play in and play out (especially if guys lack some natural abilities, both physical and mental). a split second of hesitation, a half step in the wrong direction, losing leverage, failing to get your facemask across, etc, is all it takes some times, particularly vs great competition (and theres only so many truly elite athletes who can consistently make up for those errors).

a guy like chris spielman is a good example of playing fast at LB. he might not have won many races in his day but he played fast and downhill, had great instincts, understood angles and leverage, knew how and when to engage / disengage blockers (and in the process force the back to commit), and then usually found his way to the ball and finished with sound tackles. spielman wasnt an nfl star (though he mostly got the job done) but he was great college LB.

agree in principle with your comment, just saying its more than just "speed" - its being (physically and mentally) able to and being allowed to play fast

Per all the comments on this thread about increasing speed at LB position - does Michigan State have SEC speed in their LB core? Does Iowa? Those two teams, MSU in particular really, did a very good job shutting down the zone plays Michigan struggled with. Maybe the MSU and Iowa linebackers are faster runners or quicker athletes than Bolden/Morgan/Ross but it doesn't look that way to me.

It is the scheme that makes MSU linebackers look so good. MSU shoots their linebackers aggressively into their run gaps as soon as they see run action allowing them to play fast and physical and avoid blocks...we ask our linebackers to read and react and in turn eat a lot of blocks